LogFAQs > #970458562

Thoughts on stuff I missed over the holidays.

Sightseeing in the Apocalypse: Pretty fair spot I think, although I consider this one a really effective opener for how directly it sets up the overall feel and theming of the album.

Ballad of the Mighty I: At one time this was among my least favorite High Flying Birds songs, but as I didn't really care for most of Who Built the Moon? it's kind of risen in my esteem by default over the years. It's also a bit of a memorable one for me because Noel forgot the words to the second verse when I saw him live and, after the song was over, he proceeded to hilariously complain about how long and complicated it is.

Overture to a Ceasefire: And so my favorite song off of Swagger and Stroll does fall. The marching drumbeat is such a great bookend to the album alongside Sightseeing - "sad parade music" is a pretty good descriptor, actually. I just love that even when DSO writes a comparatively "normal" song they still find a way to make things bizarre and unexpected. Your first couple of times listening to this, you just never know whether the next note is going to be one of consonance or dissonance. And then it just kind of putters out right as it seems to be building to some grand climax. The vocals are fun, the lyrics are great, and it really puts a nice little bow on everything that the rest of the Swagger tracks had to say. This is just a top-tier album ender.

And Then There Was Silence: Straight up top-15 song of all time for me. Or, at least, the original version from A Night at the Opera is. This re-recorded one is still excellent but I agree with CJones that the loss of some of the high-note vocals, appropriately, drops it a couple notches - there's just so much more of an epic feeling when everything is completely cutting loose. I've always found it interesting that ANatO has two songs centering around Cassandra and that the second one is the most ambitious thing Blind Guardian ever attempted. Hansi Kursch must find her a really interesting character to center his magnum opus around her. This feels like the culmination of everything he ever wanted to write considering that nothing else in the band's discography even comes close to its scale and the fact that, as CJones mentioned, they put a significant amount of time and effort into it... Honestly, it's weird to think that there are even 14 songs in existence that I like even better than this one. It really is a triumph of music.

Come With Me Now: I don't really care very much about this song except that it holds a special place in my heart for being the goal song for a few years of the now-defunct minor-league hockey team in my hometown. Lots of great memories of doing a very silly arm-pumping celebration in rhythm with the melody alongside my dad and a whole stadium full of other fans. Fun to see it show up on this list.

Glad to escape the Clump myself. Have a feeling one or two of my noms aren't gonna make it much longer, though.